


An Ending

by Xx__Kachi__xX



Category: The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, POV Ponyboy Curtis, Post-Canon, i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-28 18:14:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20970887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xx__Kachi__xX/pseuds/Xx__Kachi__xX
Summary: Ponyboy decides that it's time to put an end to the Soc and greaser rivalry, for real this time.





	An Ending

**Author's Note:**

> At school we just finished reading The Outsiders and an assignment we had to do was write an extra scene where the rivalry between the two groups got resolved for good. This is what I came up with. I tried to keep everyone as in character as possible!

I wasn’t sure how long ago the rumble was, maybe a few weeks ago. Maybe even longer than that. But even though the Socs and us had agreed that the rumble would put an end to everything, things were still the same. Socs still jumped us, still came around our turf. It was making the guys (mainly Steve and Two-Bit) real mad. I didn’t really care about it. I guess I just stopped caring about it ever since Johnny died. No matter how many times I tried lying to myself, I knew he was dead. I never believed myself anyways.

Some of the guys wanted another rumble. Said that they had to teach the Socs to stay away for good. I remembered what Randy had said to me, how he was tired of all the fighting. I remembered Cherry too. She hated fights, couldn’t stand them. Just from thinking of that, I knew right away that another rumble wasn’t the answer to all this. There had to be another way to end it. A better way. I had to find a better way. Johnny would want a better way. After reading the letter he had left behind for me, I knew he would want a better way.

So I got to thinking that night. I needed to talk to Randy again, Cherry too. He had to bring his Soc buddies and I would bring the gang. No fighting though. There couldn’t be any fighting, especially if Cherry was there. She’d get caught in the middle of all of it and who knows what would happen then? Nothing good, that’s for sure.

I woke up real early the next day. I didn’t get that much sleep the night before. I was too busy thinking.

“Pony,” I could hear Soda’s sleepy voice next to me. “Why you up so early?” He asked me. I explained everything to him, how this all had to stop, how I wanted to meet up with Randy and his buddies and Cherry. I told him how I wanted to bring the gang with me. He looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

“Shoot Pony, are you sure about this?” He asked me. I nodded. It was the only way that everything would stop. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll get the gang together.”

I managed to tell Cherry and she told Randy who told all his friends. It was almost sunset by the time we met up in the vacant lot. I had the gang with me and as far as I knew they hadn’t brought any weapons. Our two groups stared at each other like the night of the rumble. I felt chills down my spine as I thought of it. 

“Why exactly are we all here, huh greaser?” One Soc sneered at me. I recognized him as one of Bob’s buddies.

“This has all gotta stop,” I told him. “The fightin’ has gotta stop.”

A few of them looked surprised I think. Maybe they were expecting some kind of fist fight when they showed up.

“Why should we listen to you to stop?” Another Soc asked. With a small jolt I realized it was Paul. I glanced over at Darry and saw that his face had hardened, his eyes turning cold.

“Because he’s right,” Cherry said firmly, staring at him icily. “This whole rivalry between Socs and greasers… it’s just so pointless,” she said. As she talked about it, I could see a fire in her eyes. She really wanted this to stop. I did too. So did Johnny.

Randy slowly nodded. “I’ve been thinking the same thing…” he said quietly, his voice barely more than a whisper. I knew he tried to act all tough in front of his friends and didn’t even want to go to the rumble that night. “Ever since Bob died I’ve been thinking it,” he said. “Only thing that’s gonna come from all of this is more people dying.”

“So… we just agree to stop you all from jumping us and then we’re all buddy-buddy?” Steve asked skeptically, a cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth. Hostility glittered in his eyes and I knew that he didn’t trust the Socs for even just a second. I didn’t blame him. The Socs have put us through a lot but we also put them through a lot for killing Bob.

“We don’t have to be friends,” Cherry said carefully. She didn’t want to make Steve madder than he already was. “The rivalry just needs to end.”

The Socs all looked unsure about this. Greasers and Socs had been at each other’s throats longer than anyone could remember. For it to suddenly just stop would be a big change.

“Alright then,” Paul said gruffly. “We’ll stay on our side of town and you stay on yours, is that the agreement?”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s it.” 

Randy held his hand out for me to shake. “Then it’s settled,” he said. “The rivalry’s over.” I took his hand and gave him a firm shake, the way Darry always told me to shake someone’s hand. Randy’s grip was strong. It felt like how Dally might’ve shaken someone’s hand. Thinking of Dally made me sad so I pushed the thought away and just looked at Randy. He was smiling a little. “See you whenever I see you, Ponyboy.”

“Yeah,” I said, smiling a little. I pulled my hand away and turned to look at Cherry. She was also smiling.

“You’re a real good kid Ponyboy,” she said. “Remember those sunsets.”

The sunsets. We all watched the same sunsets, I remembered. I was gonna remember them, I knew I would. When I looked at them I would remember Cherry, and Randy, and all the kids who were like us.

Both of our groups then began to leave, walking away from the rivalry. I felt an arm go around my shoulder and realized it was Two-Bit. He was smiling as usual.

“Golly, Ponyboy! You really ended the rivalry just like that!” He grinned, tussling my hair.

“Not bad kid,” Steve told me. 

I looked up at Darry, who was also smiling. “You did good, little buddy.” I smiled. He called me little buddy again, just like how he called Soda. It felt pretty nice.

As I was walking with the guys, I felt like there was a weight off of my chest. The sun was setting across from us. I did it, I thought to myself. The rivalry was finally over.


End file.
